Angels’ Lorenzen Rips Current Baseballs After Hitting Justin Upton in Head

The L.A. starter called out MLB for providing “slick” baseballs to pitchers this season.

Angels starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen blasted the baseballs currently used in MLB after hitting Mariners outfielder Justin Upton in the head Friday.

Upton, who had been called up earlier in the day and was making his season debut, was facing Lorenzen in the fifth inning when he was struck in the helmet by a 90.6 mph pitch. He went down to the ground and stayed there for a few moments before he was eventually able to leave the field. 

Upton did not return to the game, but Seattle manager Scott Servais said he was conscious and talking throughout the encounter. 

After the game, a rattled Lorenzen ripped MLB, blaming the “slick” baseballs for the incident with Upton.

“I don’t know what Major League Baseball is playing with these baseballs, but that fully slipped out of my hand,” Lorenzen said, per Ben Verlander of Fox Sports. “It’s just crazy man. As a kid you think Major League Baseball is the greatest thing ever, and you get here and you realize, what are they doing? All of a sudden they’re going to change the baseballs...

“These baseballs are slick. They did get someone hurt. So that’s on Major League Baseball for sure. I don’t know what’s going on. These baseball’s are straight out of the package.” 

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Lorenzen isn’t the first pitcher to call out MLB for the supposed inconsistency in baseballs this season. Mets starter Chris Bassitt also ripped the league earlier in the year after teammate Pete Alonso was similarly plunked in the helmet. 

“It’s extremely annoying to see your teammates constantly get hit, and if you get hit by certain pitches it is what it is, but to get hit in the head the amount that we’re getting hit is unbelievable,” Bassitt said in April, per SNY. “I had some close calls tonight, and I’ve been hit in the face [by a line drive] and I don’t want to do that to anybody ever, but MLB has a very big problem with the baseballs. They’re bad. Everyone in the league knows it. Every pitcher knows it. They’re bad.

“They don’t care. MLB doesn’t give a damn about it. They don’t care. We’ve told them our problems with them, and they don’t care.”

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